


no greater light than made by sacrifice

by myvoidedeyes



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Implied Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Inspired by Fanart, Very Implied, all of them - Freeform, practically nonexistent, this is basically a love letter to zelda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22389343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myvoidedeyes/pseuds/myvoidedeyes
Summary: The princess enters the castle, a newborn sun burning gold through the darkness.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	no greater light than made by sacrifice

When she approaches the castle, she is not alone.

She doesn't notice them, at first. The women—girls, really—who appear as she treads the burning, broken remnants of what was once the centre of commerce and _life_ in her kingdom, her eyes straying not from the castle and the swirling red and black clouds that engulfed it.

It is a simple thing that catches her eye: a flash of gold and brown—so different from the charred earth she walks. The face that greets her is unfamiliar. Its features are sharp and there is a glinting hardness in the eyes that belies a fighter. A warrior. But as she looks upon the shimmering woman who has joined her side, she realizes that she has known her all along.

The deeper she delves, the more join her, forming an unbroken line at either side, matching her step for step. A sea of gold and pink and white, fanning out around her.

Not all have the fighter's eyes, but all, even the smallest, even those who did not wish to be chosen, share one attribute.

Resolve.

They all know what they face, the impossibility of the odds. But they walk towards their destiny nonetheless.

And all of them, every single one, is her. A long lineage of Zelda's, stretching back to the beginning of time. Her ancestors; who have already fought this fight and won. As she must too.

As she stands before the castle gates, a final figure joins her. Her dress, too, is white, her hair long and braided. Her eyes are blue and ancient, and she need speak no words for her to know. This was their beginning: the goddess reborn as a human.

Hylia smiles at her with her priestess's eyes, and takes her hand.

When the raging beast above turns its pinprick eyes, glowing with fury, upon her, she no longer fears it.

And when it charges her, maw agape and promising an unending torment of death, she raises her hand, held by the goddess; held by the iterations of every life she's ever lived.

Raises her hand, and feels warmth shoot through her veins, through every cell in her body, and glows.

The princess enters the castle, a newborn sun burning gold through the darkness.

The strength of a thousand lifetimes behind every step, she pushes the Calamity back.

She had chosen the location of her final stand long before she entered the castle's town. It is likely where her father made his own, where the other fork of her destiny led. It too had felt like a cage, once. Now it will become so.

Within the walls of the Sanctum, she allows her power to falter for just a moment. Only long enough for the beast to rear in triumph and engulf her. Then, trapped inside it's form, she seals them both.

It will fight her every moment, this she knows. But the goddess holds her steady, keeping her newly forged iron will from rusting, and she shall persevere.

One day, hope will awaken in Hyrule once again. But, until then, she must glow bright enough for them both. The light may dim, or waver, but it shall not go out.

For though her knight may not be with her in this fight—not yet—she is not alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I recently finished playing Breathe of the Wild and I really wanted to write something about Zelda. They are a little all over the place with her characterization in the game, so I wanted to do her justice. It's been a while since Princess Zelda was strong, was a fighter. I wanted to give her that back. Plus a little more.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading this midnight drabble. I hope you liked it.


End file.
